- Members at Spring Conference vote overwhelmingly to support emergency motion deploring Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
- Motion wants to see extension of sanctions to include oil and gas
- Leader: “People across the world have been shocked to see such horrific images emerge from a country where millions of innocent civilians are now having to flee or risk their lives being put in danger”
The Green Party has condemned Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and called for sanctions to include a comprehensive export and import ban, including oil and gas, after an emergency motion was overwhelmingly passed at its Spring Conference today.
The motion, which was passed during the opening plenary of the party’s conference, calls on the UK government to waive visa requirements for refugees of all nationalities fleeing Ukraine and to provide them with safe routes to sanctuary.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:
“The abhorrent and unprovoked attacks we have seen in Ukraine must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. People across the world have been shocked to see such horrific images emerge from a country where millions of innocent civilians are now having to flee or risk their lives being put in danger.
“The least we can do is open our doors to all those who are seeking refuge from this horrific invasion.
"At the same time, the UK government must recognise that it is Europe’s addiction to fossil fuels that has been one of the key drivers of our reluctance to challenge the abuses of the Putin regime. We must do everything we can to reduce our reliance on this energy and massively ramp up our installation of renewable energy sources before next winter.”
The motion proposer, Michal Chantkowski, Deputy Convenor of the Green Party's International Committee, who is of Polish heritage, said:
“In the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggressive behaviour on the international stage, the UK Government must put an end to Kremlin–linked interference in British politics and must, as a matter of priority, release the full Russia Report and carefully consider its findings, including the impact of Russian interference on the 2016 referendum on EU membership.”